November 19, 2024 - Russia-Ukraine news

Our live coverage for the day has ended. Follow the latest Ukraine news or read through the updates below.

Ukraine has fired US-made ATACMS missiles into Russia’s Bryansk region, Russia’s defense ministry said.

The move was a major escalation on the 1,000th day of war and comes just two days after the Biden administration gave Kyiv the green light to use the longer-range American weapons against targets inside Russia.

Here are the latest developments:

Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks during a press conference on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Tuesday, November 19.

Ukraine was one of the top issues among European leaders at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday.

Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he raised the issue of North Korea deploying soldiers in Russia’s war in Ukraine during his meeting with China. However, Scholz still refused to supply German Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.

Still, Scholz reaffirmed his country’s support for Ukraine and called the deployment of North Korean troops “a further escalation that cannot just be allowed to happen.”

Regarding his separate meeting with China’s leader Xi Jinping, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the two leaders recognized the need to “engage” in areas of disagreement — including on China’s “support for Russia’s war.” The Chinese leader declared a “no limits” partnership with Russia weeks before its full-scale invasion in February 2022, and the war has driven the two leaders and their economies closer together

Starmer also said Russia is guilty of “irresponsible rhetoric” after President Vladimir Putin said he updated the country’s nuclear doctrine. Under the updated doctrine, Moscow will consider aggression from any non-nuclear state — but with the participation of a nuclear country — a joint attack on Russia.

The Russian flies on top of the dome of the Senate Palace, one of the main buildings within the Kremlin compound, as seen through a barbed wire in Moscow on October 22.

A major decision by the United States to allow Ukraine to fire long-range missiles deeper inside Russian territory has complicated a potential Western diplomatic thaw with Russia as dozens of world leaders gather this week.

Sunday’s decision was viewed by many Western leaders as a way to position Ukraine for success ahead of a change in American leadership, with incoming President-elect Donald Trump skeptical of continued US assistance.

But it also complicated the diplomatic dance leaders attending G20 summits must partake in as they navigate the complex geopolitical dynamics of the bloc. Amid the change in strategy — which Joe Biden had deliberated for months — the US president and his team steered clear of Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign affairs minister, on the ground in Rio. Lavrov is at the summit in place of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

And Biden and Lavrov’s fluid schedules meant that they were not photographed together with other world leaders.

Further, the pending Trump presidency shadowed nearly every discussion of the Ukraine conflict at the summit. Leaders at the summit are acutely aware of Trump’s views toward the war, but are less certain of how that will manifest in policy once he takes office.

It’s not clear, for example, whether Trump would uphold Biden’s decision on allowing Ukraine the long-range capability, a step that NATO leaders had been encouraging for months. Trump’s incoming national security adviser, Florida Rep. Mike Waltz, questioned the decision in an interview Monday.

Read more.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell walks to the chamber at the Capitol in Washington, DC, on November 12.

US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell sharply criticized the Biden administration for delaying announcing its decision to allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles to hit targets inside Russia. McConnell said the administration had what he called “unsubstantiated” fears of “escalation.”

McConnell pointedly said: “History will record hesitation, indecision and cowardice as the hallmarks of this administration’s Ukraine policy from the beginning.”

The Republican said it is “too early to tell” if or how the delay impacted the situation on the ground, but added that “the next commander-in-chief will inherit a world of threats made worse by the Biden administration’s hesitation and half measures.”

McConnell has been an ardent supporter of Ukraine, even amid a push by some in his party to stop providing assistance to the country.

American officials were unsurprised to learn Moscow had updated its nuclear doctrine following President Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to fire US-provided long range missiles into Russia.

“It’s the same irresponsible rhetoric that we’ve seen before and that we’ve seen, frankly, for the past two years,” Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said at a briefing on Tuesday, adding that Russia has been signaling that they would do so “over the last several weeks.”

Singh also said the US does not currently “see any changes that need to be made” to the US nuclear posture.

Some background: Under the updated doctrine, Moscow will consider aggression from any non-nuclear state — but with the participation of a nuclear country — a joint attack on Russia. The Kremlin said Tuesday the revised military doctrine would in theory lower the bar to use nuclear weapons.

In a 2020 update to the nuclear doctrine — before the war began — Putin said Moscow reserves the right to use nuclear weapons “when the very existence of the state is threatened.” But changes outlined in September this year appeared to lower that threshold again, saying Moscow could use nuclear weapons when facing “a critical threat to its sovereignty.”

This post has been updated with remarks from Singh.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses lawmakers during a parliament session in Kyiv on Tuesday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has declined to confirm or deny a strike inside Russia using US-made longer-range missiles, or provide more details on it.

Ukraine hit a Russian weapons arsenal with US-provided missiles that it used to strike across the border for the first time, two US officials told CNN earlier on Tuesday.

But Zelensky added that Ukraine would use all the long-range capabilities in its arsenal.

Moscow will view launches of US-made longer-range missiles as a “new phase of war” by Kyiv’s Western allies, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday.

Russia “will perceive launches of long-range missiles guided by US military experts as a qualitatively new phase of war by the West,” Lavrov said during a news conference at the G20 summit in Brazil, according to Russian state media TASS.

Lavrov also hailed the German government’s refusal to send Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine as a “responsible stance,” TASS reported.

Rescuers work at a residential building hit by a Russian drone strike in the town of Hlukhiv, Sumy region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released on November 19.

A Russian drone strike on Ukraine’s Sumy region has killed 12 people – including a child – Ukraine’s emergency services said Tuesday.

Another 11 people were injured, two of whom were children, the officials said. Following the attack, rescuers worked to free people trapped beneath the rubble of the dormitory that was struck in the city of Hlukhiv.

Overnight, Russia launched 87 different drones from Kursk, Orel and Russia-occupied Crimea according to Ukraine’s Air Force. The force said 51 drones were confirmed downed and another 30 were “lost” across the country. Sometimes drones that are lost can be decoy drones that fly alongside the others that can fall down, become jammed or in some instances return to Russia.

The strike came on the 1,000th day of Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he wanted to make 2025 “the year of peace,” reiterating that the Ukrainian people are “not broken. They have not surrendered. They have not lost their statehood. This is a feat of our nation – a testament to the strength of millions.”

Ukraine hit a Russian weapons arsenal with US-provided missiles that it used to strike across the border for the first time, according to two US officials.

CNN reported over the weekend that President Joe Biden recently authorized Ukraine to use powerful long-range American ATACMS missile systems to strike inside Russia. The attack shows that Kyiv has wasted little time in making use of its newly granted powers.

The decision to allow the use of the Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, inside Russia had been under consideration for months. American officials had been divided on the wisdom of allowing the new capability. Some had concerns about escalating the war, while others worried about dwindling stockpiles of the weapons.

Members of the EU Parliament applaud at the end of a videoconference speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the EU Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, on Tuesday.

Ukraine is hoping to make 2025 “the year of peace,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an address to the European Parliament held to mark the 1,000th day of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In his address, Zelensky told lawmakers to remember “how much Europe is capable of achieving.”

His comments come as US President-elect Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House in January. Trump has said he wants to bring the war in Ukraine to a swift end, but has not specified how he will do so. European nations have long feared that a Trump administration might dramatically reduce US support for Ukraine.

Zelensky cautioned European lawmakers that Putin is “focused on winning this war.” He also said that the number of North Korean troops deployed to Russia “may grow to 100,000,” without providing more details.

“No one can enjoy calm waters amid a storm. We must do everything to end this war fairly and justly,” he said.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin delivers a video address in Moscow, Russia, on October 4, 2023.

President Vladimir Putin has updated Russia’s nuclear doctrine, two days after his US counterpart Joe Biden granted Ukraine permission to strike targets deep inside Russia with American-made weapons.

Under the updated doctrine, Moscow will consider aggression from any non-nuclear state – but with the participation of a nuclear country – a joint attack on Russia.

The change comes as Russia claims Ukraine fired the US-made ATACMS missiles into the Russian region of Bryansk.

The Russian government had previously signaled that the US approval would be a dangerous escalation of the war in Ukraine, now 1,000 days old.

The Kremlin began this fresh round of nuclear saber-rattling Tuesday, saying the revised military doctrine would in theory lower the bar to first use of nuclear weapons.

Read more about Putin’s response here.

ATACMS are supersonic ballistic missiles with a range of up to 300 kilometers (186 miles). They can carry a warhead containing about 170 kilograms (375 lbs) of explosives.

They are manufactured by Lockheed Martin and are designed to be fired from a Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) or a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) – two other systems the United States has provided to Ukraine.

ATACMS can strike further into Russia than any other Ukrainian missile.

Ukraine also possesses the French-British-made Storm Shadow missile, which has a range of around 250 kilometers (155 miles), shy of the range of ATACMS.

The United Kingdom and France have also denied Ukraine permission to strike targets inside Russia, although they have been used to target Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014 and considers part of its territory.

It is not yet clear if US President Joe Biden’s green light will prompt the leaders of the UK and France to grant Ukraine the same permissions for the weapons they have supplied.

U.S. Army Sgt. Ian Ketterling, gunner for Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, 17th Field Artillery Brigade, prepares the crane for loading the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) on to the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) in Queensland, Australia, on July 26, 2023.

Ukraine has fired US-made ATACMS missiles into Russia’s Bryansk region, Russia’s defense ministry said, in a major escalation on the 1,000th day of war.

The attack comes just two days after the Biden administration gave Kyiv the green light to use the longer-range American weapons against targets inside Russia.

Kyiv did not immediately respond to the report. The incident would mark the first time Ukraine has used the longer-range American weapons to strike targets deep inside Russia, and shows that Kyiv has wasted little time in making use of its newly-granted powers.

At 3:25 a.m. local time (7:25 p.m. ET) Tuesday, Ukraine fired six ballistic missiles at a facility in Bryansk, the ministry said.

Russian air defenses said they shot down five of the missiles and another was damaged. Fragments from the damaged missile fell on the territory of a military facility, causing a fire that has since been extinguished. There were no casualties or damage.

On Sunday, US President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to use longer-range American missiles inside Russia, ending a months-long prohibition aiming to help Ukraine defend itself while not drastically escalating the conflict.

The decision came at a crucial moment in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia is probing on the frontlines in Ukraine’s east while pummeling its cities with missile and drone strikes, aiming to disable Ukraine’s power grid and weaponize the region’s freezing temperatures for a third consecutive winter.